Marla Schneider - Move with Marla

For a fun and unusual day trip this fall, go north from Northbrook or Glenview to 9407 Richardson Road in Spring Grove and visit the Richardson Farm. The whole family will enjoy a day here which must include a tramp through the World's Largest Corn Maze!

Actually there are two corn mazes at the Richardson Farm, the biggest of which covers a whopping 28 acres and contains 11.1 miles of trails. It's built in sections so you can enjoy "corn mazing" without actually having to walk the entire 11.1 miles. In fact, one short trail can be completed in about a half hour.

To celebrate Lincoln's 200th birthday, the large corn maze was created using scenes from Lincoln's life. It even includes 3 wooden bridges. To see how it looks, visit The Richardson Farm website. There's lots of other information here as well. The smaller corn maze only covers 5 acres and has only 2 miles of trails.

Admission to Richardson Farms is $11.50 for adults, $10 for students 13 to 18, $8.50 for kids 5 to 12, and $8.50 for seniors over 65. Kids under 4 get in free. Lots of the activities are free also, including such things as a 50-foot slide, a 50-foot observation tower to view the corn maze and farm from above, free pedal carts and free wagon rides. Campfires are free (bring your own marshmallows) and you can reserve a picnic table for a small charge.

The corn maze is open until November 1, 2009, and is even open until midnight on certain nights so the maze can be enjoyed by flashlight or moonlight.

Living in Glenview, Wilmette or Northbrook puts the whole family close to all kinds of great activities. Go to the Marla Schneider Team website to find out how Marla's team can help you find the perfect home for you and your family.

Why isn't my home selling is the lament of many home sellers, and it is a legitimate one. Of course, the most obvious answer in today's economy is that it is a slow market, and many houses are languishing through no real fault of the homeowner.

Price is a big factor in selling a home in a slow market. Homes that are priced too high may not even be looked at by prospective buyers. And if buyers aren't looking, they certainly aren't making offers that can be negotiated and accepted.

There may be other factors affecting a sale that simply can't be changed. These may include problems with the house itself such as rooms that are odd shapes or that home buyers deem are too large or too small for their intended use. Being too close to a busy highway, in a noisy neighborhood or too far from a desirable school or other facility are also features that can't be fixed.

Again this brings us back to price. If problems cannot be overcome, lowering the price may be the only answer to convince a buyer that this home is indeed a good deal for the price.

Let the Marla Schneider Team help with the sale of your Northbrook home. They have lots of ideas on how to make your Norhtshore community sell in today's slower market.

Looking for a special way to spend an Illinois fall weekend? St. Charles, just an hour west of Chicago, may have the perfect activity for you and your family from October 9th through 11th. It's the 24th Annual Scarecrow Festival.

While it's probably not impossible to have a whole festival planned around scarecrows, St. Charles' festival has a lot more going for it than just scarecrows. First of all, there are two free trolleys running around the Festival so it's easy to get around and see everything. Be sure to see all the scarecrows on exhibit and vote for your favorites.

After casting your vote, take the kids to the petting zoo, get their faces painted and let them create their own scarecrow. Other activities include a space museum, carnival area, model railroad exhibit, and of course, food. Some activities are free while others have a nominal cost.

Visit the main stage for all kinds of entertainment including a martial arts exhibit, dancing, singing, an Abe Lincoln tribute, and musical groups such as fiddlers and country singers.

A free craft show is also available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Hours for the Scarecrow Festival on Friday and Saturday are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information have a look at the special Scarecrow Festival website.

If you're not already living in the Wilmette or Glenview area and would like to be, check out the Marla Schneider Team to help you find the perfect area home for you and yours. Then it's just a hop, skip and jump to see more scarecrows than you ever imagined.

If you're looking for a Northbrook home in foreclosure thinking it will be a great bargain, you may be right. But don't forget, that home didn't go into foreclosure overnight. The homeowner had to miss a lot of payments in order to be foreclosed on.

Taking this a step further, if mortgage payments were missed, chances are other maintenance and repairs were not completed as needed either. It's possible and even probable that heating and air conditioning systems haven't been serviced in a timely manner, the water heater hasn't been drained in awhile, and drains may be clogged or slow-running.

Plants may not have been trimmed and fed as they should have been, the lawn has probably not been fertilized or treated for insects and paint has not been reapplied as needed to prevent dry rot around windows and doors.

Be sure to realize that most sales of foreclosures are "as is". Appliances may have been removed by the homeowner or left in disrepair. Even such things as light fixtures and blinds may be gone. A home with a lot of problems may not qualify for certain types of mortgages so there may be a need for a larger down payment or even a cash purchase.

The bottom line in these situations is to be sure you understand what you're getting - or not getting! The Marla Schneider Team can help you buy a home in Glenview or Wilmette. Find out all that Marla and her team can do for you.

Are you a detail-oriented Wilmette home seller? Well, if not, you may be able to sell your home in a more timely manner by learning how to be detail-oriented.

What is a detail-oriented home seller? It's a seller who is willing to make the home being sold special by taking great care with the small things that make buyers want the home. Here are some details that can easily be turned into great selling points for your house.

1. Clean it Up: We've all heard the saying, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness." Whether you believe that or not, cleanliness is a big selling point. Most buyers don't want to have to spend weeks cleaning their purchase to make it livable but would much rather buy a home that's already clean. So be sure all surfaces are spotless. Kitchens especially, need to be free of any grease or crumbs on the countertops. Grout should be stainfree, walls should not have marks or scuffs, furniture should be dustfree, mirrors and windows should sparkle.

2. De-clutter: Let buyers see how roomy your house is. A home with every wall covered by family pictures, kitchen counters covered with small appliances and other utensils, garages filled with "stuff" and closets with so many clothes in them it would be impossible to pick an outfit, is too full and needs to be de-cluttered.

3. If it's Broke, Fix it: Large repairs usually get attention before sellers put their home on the market, while small repairs may be overlooked. These small things need to be fixed as well before a home is opened up for viewing by prospective buyers. If home fix-up isn't your cup of tea, hire a handyman to fix the small problems.

4. Make a Good First Impression: Be sure the outside of the home looks good too. Trim shrubs and bushes, mow the yard in a timely manner, add flowering annuals for a burst of color, pressure wash the house as needed, and be sure the flower beds are weeded. Does the front door need repainted? Is the doorknob rusty? If the answer is yes, change them out. These may be the first things prospective buyers see and they need to make a great impression.

The Marla Schneider Team can make a great impression on buyers. Learn more about how to sell your home in Glenview, Wilmette, Northbrook or on the North Shore.